REVIEWED: Dean Jeffries, By Tom Cotter

Automotive Lifestyle

REVIEWED: Dean Jeffries, By Tom Cotter

Gregg Leary reviews the story of the car customizer responsible some of the most famous and iconic creations in “50 Fabulous Years in Hot Rods, Racing & Film.”

Gregg Leary | Posted November 27, 2010 Charlotte NC

Author Tom Cotter tells the story of one of the most influential car designers in the past half century. (Illustration: SPEED)

I have reviewed three previous books by Tom Cotter: The Cobra in the Barn, The Hemi in the Barn and Holman-Moody. They were excellent. Dean Jeffries continues the legacy.

Some may say “Dean Who?” The dust-jacket copy may help clear up the mystery:

“Legendary car designer, builder and painter Dean Jeffries was never one to toot his own horn, part of the reason his extraordinary career in hot rods, Indy cars, TV and movie cars, and more has never been detailed as have those of contemporaries Von Dutch, Ed Roth, and George Barris. Jeffries made a name for himself with groundbreaking, stunning, and iconic vehicles like the ‘Mantaray,’ the ‘Monkeemobile,’ and the Green Hornet’s ‘Black Beauty.’

“This book offers an unprecedented look at the man who modified vehicles for everyone from James Dean, Steve McQueen and Elvis to Cobra builder Carroll Shelby and Indy racer A.J. Foyt. Also included are 250 rare photos and sketches from Jeffries’ personal archives.”

One of the most-famous Jeffries-built custom creations, the Monkeemoblie, sold for $360,000 at a Barrett-Jackson auction in 2008. (Photo: Barrett-Jackson)

Maybe it was fate. Dean Jeffries was born in 1933 and grew up in car-crazy Southern California during the boom after World War II. “He grew up living just down the street from race driver Troy Ruttman and pinstriper Von Dutch.” Dean went to midget races with his dad, who wrenched on the little cars at such places as Ascot. Jeffries also tagged along to races with Troy Ruttman, which kindled a life-long love with Indianapolis. (Ruttman won the Indy 500 in 1952.)

Dean began pinstriping while in the service in Germany. “I really learned striping from Von Dutch.” Jeffries painted “Little Bastard” and the number “130” on James Dean’s Porsche Spyder and pinstriped the helmet that Dean WOULD have worn at the race in Salinas, had Jimmy not been killed in an accident en route to the race. Jeffries was supposed to go to the races with James Dean that fateful weekend in September of 1955, but Jeffries had to work. “We were buddies when I had my Porsche, and we’d go to the races together.”

Jeffries designed and trademarked the famous flying-eyeball logo for which Von Dutch is famous, and Dean airbrushed T-##### at car shows long before Ed “Big Daddy” Roth started doing so.

Jeffries learned how to work with fiberglass, steel and aluminum. “To learn, I’d make a dent in a fender and then take it out again,” Jeffries said.

Dean worked next door to the famous George Barris shop. Dean put the “finishing touches” on many famous Barris creations. When a fire erupted at the Barris’ shop, Dean was only able to salvage one vehicle from the flames... his girlfriend’s car. That may have caused a major rift between the two men. George Barris sold Jeffries’ famous “Monkeemobile” at the 2008 Barrett-Jackson auction without actually crediting Dean with building the car. SPEED’s Mike Joy and Matt Stone gave Dean the credit for the car’s fabrication. When Tom Cotter visited a restored “Monkeemobile” at George Barris’ shop there was a sign that said, “Designed by Barris Kustoms, Built by Dean Jeffries.” Barris told Cotter that he and Jeffries should “bury the hatchet.” That would be nice.

Part two: The Machines is my favorite part of the book. It covers The “Mantaray,” The Green Hornet’s “Black Beauty,” “The Monkeemobile” and others.

“Mantaray” is one of the most iconic vehicles of all time. From initial vision (Dean saw an actual manta ray during a trip to Seattle, which gave him the idea for the design and the name) to final execution, the car is a work of art. Cotter’s description of the car is that it is an “asymmetric.” “The car would be unique from every angle, and no curve or corner would match any other.” Dean drew a sketch from his vision and from that drawing built the car.

“Mantaray” started out as a Maserati race car that Dean was given by his father-in-law. The engine and gearbox came from Jeffries’ friend Carroll Shelby as repayment for Dean painting the very first Cobra prototype at no charge. Jeffries hand-fabricated 86 individual pieces of aluminum into the Tournament of Fame winner at the 1964 Grand National Roadster Show in Oakland in under three months.

The car was featured on the “Steve Allen Show” and in the movie “Bikini Beach.” I vividly remember the film from my youth. Dean did not trust Frankie Avalon’s driving skills with his creation, so Jeffries played Frankie’s double for the character, “The Potato Bug,” in the film. It launched Dean’s movie career which would last for three decades. “Mantaray” is now on long term loan at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

The Green Hornet’s “Black Beauty” should have achieved the cult status of the “Batmobile” or the “Monkeemobile.” It had many cool gadgets that James Bond could only dream of, but they were rarely seen. Built from a 1966 Chrysler Imperial, it featured cannons, rocket launchers, flame throwers, machine guns, a smoke gun, oil spreader, a satellite unit, car phone and brooms that swept away tire tracks from dirt roads. But as Dean says, “They messed up. The car was black and only used for night shots. You could never see it.”

Perhaps Jeffries’ most famous creation is the “Monkeemobile.” Dean built two versions of the car in under two week’s time each. When the show wrapped, Jeffries was offered the cars for $1,000 each. Dean declined. It’s a decision he regrets as one recently sold for $360,000. You’ll have to purchase “Dean Jeffries” to read the rest of the story of the “Monkeemobile,” “The Landmaster” from “Damnation Alley,” and Dean’s involvement with the famed Indianapolis 500.

Dean Jeffries: 50 Fabulous Years in Hot Rods, Racing & Film rates four out of five lug nuts and can be purchased at SPEEDtv.com, “Store.”